Trampled Hearts
by The Little Geeky Piano Girl
Summary: A mix of the book 'Chocolate Horse' and the tv episode 'Track Record' with my own special twist. Lisa/Alex Rated T just in case. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hi! This is my first story on FanFiction, but i've been writing this since I was about thirteen. R&R!

Here are the ages of the characters:

**Lisa:**** 15**

**Alex:**** 16**

**Stevie:**** 16**

**Carole:**** 16**

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Chapter 1

It was a warm afternoon; Carole, Phil and Lisa were shifting bales of hay in the feed barn at Pine Hollow. The barn was to be the host of the dance on Valentines Day. They were making a gallery for people to sit on and watch the others on the dance floor.

Carole and Lisa were two of the members from the group of three girls named: the Saddle Club. The third member of the trio was Stevie. These three girls are all riders at Pine Hollow stables in Willow Creek. The Saddle Club had only two rules. They had to be horse crazy and willing to help each other out.

Lisa Atwood was the newest rider of the trio and the youngest at fifteen years old. Lisa started out riding on Patch, a small, pinto gelding who was the mount of most new riders at the stable. When her natural talent and ability boosted with practice she soon started to ride Prancer, a chestnut mare who was a racehorse until The Saddle Club rescued her from the slaughterhouse and a fed-up David McLeod when she had sprained a tendon. Her tendon has been weak ever since. She has a younger sister Melanie who is thirteen years old. Lisa was a diligent girl at school and always got straight A's, which pleased her mother. Lisa's mother is always encouraging Lisa to do many activities such as ballet and music. It was her mother's drive for Lisa to be a perfect young lady that got her interested in horse riding. Her mother thought that every young lady should know something about horses but Lisa soon grew to love horses and wanted to know _everything_ about them.

She hadn't got along well with Carole and Stevie at first seeing as how her mother had nearly knocked them down when they were riding back to Pine Hollow after a hack on her first day. Then when Veronica diAngelo, the most spoilt girl at the stables, had planned a prank on Stevie that could have ended in Stevie getting seriously hurt, Lisa told Carole about what Veronica was planning to do and together they were able to stop it before Stevie or Comanche (the horse she was riding at the time) were hurt. Lisa then earned their trust and together they formed The Saddle Club.

Carole Hanson was sixteen years old and was easily the most experienced rider of the three as her father, Colonel Hanson, was in the military and she grew up on military bases. These bases all had stables and she had learnt to ride there. Her mother had passed away due to cancer a while earlier and she had bought her horse Starlight with the money her mother had left her. It had taken a long time for her to get over her mother's death and the death of Cobalt, Veronica diAngelo's stallion who Carole adored, had made all the turmoil of it all seem so much larger than it actually was and for a while she quit riding. In the end she realised that she had to get on with her life and in doing so, it didn't mean that she didn't love Cobalt or her mother. She could be happy and still mourn for them.

The third and final member of The Saddle Club was Stevie Lake. Stevie was the self-proclaimed queen of practical jokes. She wasn't a tomboy yet she was uncomfortable with the usual activities of most girls her age so, had adopted the name 'Stevie' since a young age. Her real name was Stephanie and she didn't like it one bit. Stevie rode Comanche, one of Pine Hollow's school horses until she had rescued Belle; a black mare. She, like Carole was sixteen years old and was the only girl in a house of three boys. Her three brothers were: Chad who was the eldest at eighteen years of age, Michael who was the youngest at fourteen years of age and her twin brother Alex. Alex had missed spending quality time with his sister and was always interested in horses but tried not to show it when his brothers started teasing Stevie for her love of horses. When he wanted to surprise Stevie and start riding, Carole and Lisa had taught him the basics and soon he was riding in the same ride as Stevie, Carole and Lisa. He rode Comanche and it was often said that the Lake twins were the same in as many ways as they were different.

As the other members of The Saddle Club and Phil shifted bales of hay in the grain barn, Stevie was on her way to the hospital in Mrs Reg's car. Phil and Stevie had been out on a hack with Teddy and Belle when they had heard the gong. The gong was a signal for all riders on a hack to come back to the yard. When they had reached the fence, they found Carole and Lisa waiting for them. They told her that Alex, who had been off school all week because he was sick, had been taken to the hospital in an ambulance. Mrs Reg had offered to drive her to the hospital and that's where she is right now.

When Stevie had heard about Alex being taken to the hospital she had been really worried. As she sat in the passenger seat of Mrs Reg's car, listening to one of her famous stories, she speculated on the many things that could have happened to make Alex be taken away in an ambulance. She quickly ruled out broken bones, as he was in bed sick all day. As Stevie sat there the only reason she could think of was that he didn't just have a cold.

When she arrived at the hospital, she found her father waiting for her at reception. He took her up to a small room where she sat, so deep in thought that she barley noticed the needle go into her upper arm. When the nurse was done she led her back out to her father. Stevie followed her father to a small room with a glass wall. Beyond the glass wall was Alex lying there on a bed, pale and asleep. Her father explained everything to her while she just sat there listening in horror with her eyes still on her unconscious twin brother.

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A/N: What do you think? Should I continue or not?


	2. Chapter 2

Hi! I'm back! You may notice a change in the writing style as this story continues as I started writing it when I was about 13 and my writing style matured a lot since then.

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Chapter 2

While Stevie was at the hospital visiting Alex, Carole, Lisa and Phil had just finished moving the bales of hay and they were standing back, admiring their handiwork. "How about we test out the dance floor?" suggested Phil holding out his hand to help Lisa up from her position on the floor.

"Maestro, if you please." said Phil to Carole. Carole immediately began to whistle a waltz and Phil and Lisa began to dance to the music that Carole was making. When Carole's tune ended Lisa and Phil burst out laughing. Phil offered his hand to Carole and Lisa, who couldn't whistle as well as Carole, looked around for inspiration. She spotted some barrels with different amounts of grain in each barrel. Nearby, there was a box of tools. Lisa picked up a few screwdrivers and tentatively began to tap them against the barrels. When she began to tap out a beat, Carole and Phil were momentarily surprised but then they started to get into the beat and danced along to the music that Lisa was providing.

When Mrs Reg arrived back at Pine Hollow she immediately went to the feed barn. As soon as Mrs Reg walked through the door, the joyful music stopped and she was bombarded with questions.

"Is Stevie OK?" asked a worried Phil.

"What about Alex? Did you find out what was wrong with him?" asked a pale and petrified Lisa.

"Is there anything wrong with him? I mean it could have been a false alarm, right?" said Carole who was trying to lighten the mood.

"Yes, I'm afraid there is. Stevie's OK as far as I can tell but a bit subdued so I could be wrong. Alex, I'm afraid he has Meningitis." Replied Mrs Reg.

"MENINGITIS!" squeaked a terrified Lisa and any colour left in her cheeks drained from them when she heard this statement.

"Yes, all of the Lake family have had vaccinations to protect them from getting the virus as well. They are all at the hospital now so there is no point stopping by their house on the way home to see how he is as I am sure they will be there to very late at night. Lisa, you wouldn't remember but Phil, Carole do you remember when Lisa was in a coma? Do you remember how late her parents stayed at the hospital?"

"Yes, Stevie and I stayed nearly as late but we weren't allowed in before school." Carole said reminiscing about the time when Lisa had fallen off Prancer trying to jump a fence that was too high for her level and ended up in a coma until they brought Prancer to see her and she woke her up.

"Stevie wouldn't have been able to wake up that early if it hadn't been to visit Lisa in hospital!" Phil said remembering how Stevie would be late for school every day if her mother didn't go up to see what was taking her so long.

"That will make her poor mothers life easier." Said Mrs Reg grimly.

"Do you mean that he's in a coma too?" asked Carole.

"Yes it happens all the time with Meningitis. The tricky thing is that the coma could last for weeks or even months." Mrs Reg replied. She glanced around at the others. Carole was twirling a strand of her tightly curled hair that had fallen loose of her ponytail. Phil was pacing up and down behind the two girls with a worried expression on his face. Lisa on the other hand was completely speechless. She had a petrified expression on her face and she was staring at the floor with her brown curls falling in front of her face shielding it so that nobody could see the tears that were currently leaking from her crystalline blue eyes.

Mrs Reg left the feed barn and went to find Max and explain what had happened. When she left Carole whispered,

"I can't believe it. Meningitis. I thought he just had a cold."

"Me too. What do you think Lisa?" Phil and Carole looked over to where Lisa was standing and saw that she was very pale.

"Are you OK Lisa?" asked Carole and when she got no answer she went over and took the screwdrivers that she had been using to tap out the beat for Carole and Phil to dance to. When Phil saw Carole trying to steer Lisa over to the gallery he came over and helped.

"I think she's in shock." Phil commented when Lisa was sitting on the bales of hay and she was still as pale as before.

"I'll be back in a few minutes." Carole said to Phil before leaving the feed barn.

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Please let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

Hi! I'll be updating quite frequently for now as I have about 18 chapters written at the moment, but then I will slow up a bit after that. I plan to write about 20 chapters, so let me know if you want the rest of the chapters all put up in the next couple of days or a couple per week!

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Chapter 3

As Carole walked towards the Regnery house, which was where she was certain that Mrs Reg was, she began to wonder how Alex had got Meningitis in the first place. That was when a thought struck her and she quickened her pace from a leisurely walk and ran towards the house.

Once inside the house she headed for the kitchen and it was there that she found Mrs Reg reading a book on horsemanship. Mrs Reg looked up when she heard the kitchen door open and when she saw Carole standing in the doorway she smiled.

"Hello Carole, what can I do for you?"

"Mrs Reg," Carole asked tentatively "Is Meningitis like Mumps?"

"In what way do you mean Carole?"

"I mean that you can be carrying the virus and not know that you are, then spread the virus to others before you start feeling sick or showing any symptoms?" asked Carole nervously.

"Not that I know of. Why?" asked Mrs Reg, confused as to why Carole would ask a question like that.

"Oh good. I was afraid that Lisa would get sick to." Said Carole and as she spoke her face flooded with relief. Mrs Reg was about to go back to her reading and this question had caught her completely off guard. She looked at Carole utterly confused.

"What? Lisa? Oh, do you mean about the vaccinations? No, you, Lisa and Phil should be fine."

"Thanks Mrs Reg!" Carole said with a smile creeping its way onto her face. No matter what the problem was Mrs Reg could always make her smile. "What's good for treating shock?"

"Ah." Mrs Reg said with a smile. "A rest in a clean stable, some red rose remedy and rescue remedy mixed in with some nice warm bran mash."

"No Mrs Reg," Carole said while trying to suppress her giggles "I meant in people!"

"Ah," said Mrs Reg, who by now was also laughing. "Well that's much different then. Let me see, sit them down."

"Done that," Carole muttered under her breath before asking "What else?"

"Well that depends on whether you are dealing with a child or an adult."

"What if it's a child?" asked Carole inquisitively.

"I'm sure a steaming hot mug of hot chocolate should do the trick. That and a lot of comfort and sympathy but that depends on how bad the shock is." Mrs Reg answered, going back to her book.

"Thanks Mrs Reg. Can you help me make some of that 'steaming hot' hot chocolate you mentioned?" Carole asked now with quite a large smile on her face.

"Of course I will Carole," said Mrs Reg. Still with most of her attention on the book she was reading. "So I'm guessing that you weren't speaking hypothetically then. So who's in shock?"

"It's Lisa."

"Lisa!" Mrs Reg closed her book with a snap and Carole now had her full attention. "What happened?"

"Nothing since you left Mrs Reg but it's what you told us about Alex." Carole replied.

"But why would that affect Lisa more than you or Phil?" asked Mrs Reg while adding the hot chocolate powder to the milk that she had just heated.

"Do you promise not to tell anyone what I am about to tell you?" Carole asked Mrs Reg with a smile creeping onto her face.

"I promise." Mrs Reg held one hand over her heart and the other in the air at shoulder height to indicate that she wouldn't tell a soul.

"Well," Carole looked around to make sure that nobody else was in the room before turning back to Mrs Reg and saying "Lisa is going out with Alex so it would be hardest on her."

"Oh poor Lisa!" Mrs Reg commented, her face full of concern. "Well, that's the hot chocolate. I'll be around in about five minutes to help."

"Thanks Mrs Reg." Carole said. She was very grateful that Mrs Reg was willing to help. "Phil and I might be able to calm her down but if you could think of a way to cheer her up or take her mind off it for a while would be really helpful!"

"I'll see what I can do." Mrs Reg replied with a wink.

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So? I don't have a clue if anything referring to treatment for shock in this chapter is correct, I just made it up as I went along!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Carole hurried back to the feed barn as fast as she could without spilling the mug of hot chocolate. When she reached the barn she slipped through the door and headed straight over to the gallery they had made, where Lisa was still sitting.

"Lisa?" Carole asked tentatively so as not to make her jump. Lisa looked up at Carole and she noticed how pale Lisa still was and the wet streaks on her cheeks and she realised that Lisa was crying. "Drink this Lisa, it'll help." Carole offered the mug to Lisa and Lisa gratefully accepted it.

"Thanks." Lisa managed to whisper. Phil pulled Carole out of Lisa's earshot as she started to sip from the mug.

"Where did you disappear to?" Phil asked Carole with an annoyed look on his face.

"I went to see Mrs Reg," Carole said in a hushed voice so that Lisa definitely couldn't hear her. "I was afraid that you could catch Meningitis the way you can catch Mumps." Carole confessed.

"Oh, so you were afraid that Lisa's at risk?" Phil said while stealing a glance at Lisa too see if she was listening but she was sipping from the mug with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Yea, Mrs Reg is coming to help us cheer Lisa up." Carole said with a hint of hopefulness in her voice.

"I'm not sure if that's possible." Phil said glumly.

"Well, we'll at least try to keep her mind off it for a bit." Carole suggested, trying to be optimistic.

"Hmmm," Phil said thoughtfully, "That could work but she's really upset."

"I know how she feels." Carole said glancing over at Lisa and remembering how she had felt when she found out that her mother was in hospital with cancer. Mrs Reg pushed the door open a bit and saw Lisa sitting on the gallery with the mug.

"Carole, Phil, bring Lisa outside. I've got a surprise for her."

"Sure Mrs Reg." Carole and Phil said in unison.

"I hope this works." Phil muttered to Carole as they walked over to where Lisa was sitting with their fingers crossed.

"Come on Lisa; let's go outside for a while." Carole said and Lisa got up and followed her and Phil outside to where Mrs Reg was standing waiting for them. But she wasn't alone. When Lisa saw who was standing beside Mrs Reg her face brightened up and she smiled.

"Prancer!" Lisa exclaimed as she ran up to Prancer and buried her face in Prancer's neck, as she couldn't reach her mane.

"Come on," Mrs Reg whispered to Carole and Phil. "Let's leave them to it." and with that they left Lisa with her arms around Prancer's neck and Prancer's neck curved around Lisa's back reassuringly.

Once they were inside Mrs Reg's kitchen they sat down and Mrs Reg made a glass of juice for Carole and Phil.

"Have you heard from Stevie yet?" Carole asked Mrs Reg through sips of juice.

"Why would Stevie call Pine Hollow?" asked Phil confused.

"Our riding lesson's tomorrow, she might ring to confirm she's coming." Carole said sensibly.

"Oh, right. But she might also ring to cancel it." Phil said.

"That's not like Stevie but it's still possible. I'll let you know if I hear anything from the Lakes. Why don't you three go for a hack in the woods?"

"OK Mrs Reg." Carole and Phil said before putting their glasses in the sink and heading towards the stable block.

As they walked towards Starlight's stall Phil realised that they had left Belle and Teddy tacked after the hack he had taken with Stevie earlier.

"Teddy's still tacked so I'll untack Belle while you tack and groom Starlight." Phil said heading over to Belle's stable.

"Bring Lisa's grooming kit, riding stuff and Prancer's tack and put them by the fence." Carole called as she slid the bolt on Starlight's door back and stepped inside.

"Ready yet?" Phil asked Carole while leaning on Starlight's stable door. "Lisa was already riding Prancer when I got there."

"What!" exclaimed Carole, whipping round to face Phil with an astounded expression on her face. "Without her riding stuff?"

"She had put on her hat but not her backbrace. I put it, her grooming kit and Prancer's tack by the fence like you told me to. I don't think she saw me." Carole led Starlight out of his stable and Phil led Teddy out of his. They mounted and rode toward the riding ring where Lisa was riding Prancer.

"Hey Lisa." Carole called out to her once they got to the riding ring.

"Do you want to come for a hack with us?" Phil asked. Lisa nodded and she left the riding ring to follow Carole and Phil.

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Well? What do you think? Any good? Should I continue?


	5. Chapter 5

Hi again! Sorry I took so long to update! Anybody seen the new Harry Potter film! It's totally awesome! I wanna go see it again!

Oh, and Kambia, thank you for pointing that out for me. I'm sorry if it was confusing, I wrote it when I was 12/13 and I was awul at writing then, I'm not much better now, but my friends think I am. I was trying to introduce the characters and start the story at the same time.

Enjoy! Please R&R!**

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Chapter 5

As Carole, Phil and Lisa were out on their hack in the woods Stevie was sitting looking through the glass wall at her brother. She couldn't believe that she had been so heartless when he had asked her to get him a drink and she had rudely told him to get it himself. She realised that the signs that he had Meningitis were all there but she was too preoccupied with her own petty problems, like homework, to notice them.  
"If only I had paid more attention in school. Then I would've known what was wrong and his chances of survival could be higher," she muttered to herself. That was when she swore to herself that she would work hard at school from then on. She also decided that if she was to get her homework done on time she would have to rid herself of all temptations. Including horse riding. She was sure that Carole and Lisa would look after Belle and Phil probably would too, when he was at Pine Hollow.

Everyday, Stevie went to school and did the best that she could and as soon as the bell rang, she ran, got a bus and sat on the other side of the glass wall and did her homework, glancing up every now and then to see if her brother was still unconscious.

While Stevie was still absent from Pine Hollow, Carole, Phil and Lisa continuously worked on the decorations for the dance. Every afternoon, they would arrive at Pine Hollow and immediately head for the feed barn where they would tirelessly hang hearts everywhere.

Valentines Day had finally arrived. It was a Saturday morning and Carole, Lisa and Phil were in the grain barn after their lesson, making sure that everything was perfect for the dance that evening. They were making sure that there were enough tables for the food and drinks when Lisa said to Carole

"It looks great! You're going to have a lot of fun later."

"What do you mean? You're going to be there too!" Carole said to Lisa with a confused look on her face.

"I'm not going. I have nobody to go with and you and Cam will be dancing most of the time so I'd mostly be sitting by myself anyway." Lisa said shrugging.

"I'm not going either." Phil said.

"What?" Carole asked. "But I won't be dancing with Cam all night. Please come!" Carole pleaded. Lisa looked dubious for a second and then Carole spoke again. "If both of you come then while Cam and I are dancing you can dance with each other. Please?" Carole looked at Lisa and Phil with a hopeful look on her face.

"Alright, I suppose I could go." Phil said smiling.

"What about you Lisa?" Carole asked looking towards Lisa.

"Alright, I'll go too." Lisa said and Carole literally jumped up and down with joy.

Before the dance, Carole came to Lisa's house and both girls got ready there. Carole chose a simple long sleeved white shirt with a beige suede waistcoat, knee length beige skirt and white cowgirl boots. Lisa settled with a pink crinkly blouse, short denim skirt that puffed out slightly and pink cowgirl boots. Both girls wore white cowgirl hats.

While Carole and Lisa were getting ready, Phil was calling Stevie to wish her a Happy Valentines Day and to ask if she had got the gift that he had sent. He rang her house but it was her mother that answered and she told him that Stevie was at the hospital so Phil asked her to tell Stevie that he said Happy Valentines Day. Just then his own mum called him to tell him that she was leaving to go to a meeting and that if he wanted a lift he had to come now.

Phil waited for Carole and Lisa to arrive before going into the feed barn. When they entered they were very proud to see that the barn looked amazing. They went over to where Cam was waiting for Carole beside the food. They danced, talked, ate and sang along to the music that the band was playing. Max had asked The Saddle Club to sing at the dance but when Stevie stopped coming to Pine Hollow and she had said that she wasn't coming to the dance, Max had booked another band. That night was a night to remember but Phil and Lisa couldn't stop worrying about Stevie and Alex when they weren't preoccupied with dancing and talking.

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You like? Please tell me what you think!


	6. Chapter 6

Hi everyone! I'm trying to update more regularly and frequently. Let me know what you think!

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Chapter 6

The next morning Lisa's mother left Carole at her house and Carole ran inside to tell her dad how great the night was. After she told him everything he said

"Stevie called last night and asked you to call her back when you got home. I think she wants to know about the dance." He said with a wink.

Carole rang Stevie's house and was glad when it was Stevie who picked up the phone.

"Hi Stevie!"

"Hi Carole! So, tell me all about last night."

"That's just what my dad thought you would say. It was amazing! My feet are still sore from all the dancing I did!"

"So were you and Cam the King and Queen of the dance floor?"

"If you were basing it on how much we danced then yea."

"But…?"

"But if it was based on the best dancers then it would have to be Lisa and Phil. I never knew that they could dance so well! Did you?"

"No, I didn't. So, did they go together?"

"Yea they did. Why?"

"No reason. Thanks Carole but I've gotta go. Bye!" and with that Stevie hung up leaving Carole bewildered.

Later on Phil called the Lake house to see if Stevie had got his message but when he rang it was her mother again.

"Hi Mrs Lake. Is Stevie there?"

"I'll check. Hold on" Stevie's mother found Stevie doing homework in her bedroom. "Stevie, Phil's on the phone for you."

"Tell him I'm at the hospital." Stevie said with an angry look on her face. "I'm going there anyway. I want to go visit Alex now that he's awake." The Lake's had gotten a phone call the previous evening to tell them that Alex had woken up and not to visit him until morning as he was being checked over.

When Stevie got to the hospital, she found Alex on the phone to one of his friends. Stevie waited until he was finished and then went in to see him. When she was in there they talked just like they had before and it was as if he wasn't sick anymore. It was a few days before he could go home but he was already feeling so much better. Alex shifted his pillows and then said,

"There are just a few drawbacks from being in hospital."

"What?" Stevie said in mock surprise. "Drawbacks from being a pampered little prince?" she asked as she glanced around at all the cards and sweets he had received.

"Yep." He replied laughing. "I miss my friends."

"Weren't you just on the phone to them?" Stevie asked.

"Not those friends. Comanche, Phil and Carole. I miss Lisa too." he replied, a slight blush creeping across his cheeks as he said the last part.

"Oh, you mean my ex-friends." Stevie said dismissively. "Well, except Comanche of course."

"Hold on. What?" Alex asked absolutely stunned. "Ex-friends? But you're The Saddle Club!"

"We were The Saddle Club," Stevie said. "Were."

"But, but, but," Alex stammered "Why?"

"Well, say your best friend went to a dance with your girlfriend."

"Huh?" Alex asked, still confused.

Stevie sighed before saying "I wasn't going to the Pine Hollow Valentines Day dance so Phil went with Lisa."

"Oh." Just then a nurse walked into the room and walked over to where Stevie was sitting.

"Stevie, there's somebody here to see you."

"Who?" Alex and Stevie asked in unison. The nurse walked back to the door and asked somebody out of sight what their name was. The nurse then walked back over to Stevie and told her that it was Carole.

"Can she come in?" Alex asked. "I know it's supposed to be family only but just this once? Please?"

"Alright, just this once." She said before walking towards the door and telling Carole to come in.

Carole stepped into the room and stood awkwardly beside the doorway.

"Hi." She said glancing at Alex and Stevie.

"Hi." Alex replied. Stevie was glaring at Carole and when she noticed this, she began to feel uncomfortable. Alex noticed this too and nudged Stevie hard with his elbow. This brought Stevie back to her senses and she muttered as quietly as she could yet still be heard "Hi."

"Look, Stevie," Carole started. "Don't be mad at Phil or Lisa. It wasn't their idea to go to the dance together. It was mine."

"Oh, really!" Stevie said, glaring daggers at Carole.

"Yes, they had both decided not to come and you weren't coming either. I didn't want to be the only Saddle Club member there so I suggested that they went together as friends so that they would have somebody to dance with." Carole said glancing up at Stevie. "It was also to help them both as they were pretty upset."

"Upset?" Alex asked confused. "Why?"

"Well, Lisa for obvious reasons and Phil was worried that there was something wrong with you Stevie." Carole said looking at Stevie. "Remember when we thought Comanche had an Equine infection? Remember how you blamed yourself? Phil was worried that you would blame yourself again."

"I did." Stevie confessed. "I thought that if I hadn't left all my homework to the last minute and had done it when I was supposed to, then I would have noticed the hints that Alex had Meningitis. That's why I quit horse riding. So I could get my school work done."

"Really? I find it really hard to picture you in the perfect student role!" Alex said laughing. "What were the 'obvious' reasons for Lisa being upset? I was stuck in here so I couldn't see her. Or anyone else at Pine Hollow for that matter."

"Alex, you doofus! That's exactly it! I haven't seen Lisa since the day you went to hospital and _I_ know why she was upset!" Stevie said exasperated with him.

"Huh?" was all Alex could say.

"Stevie's right." Carole said. "She was worried about you!"

"_Me_?" Alex stammered taken aback.

"You were in a coma! Of course she was worried! You had _MENINGITIS_ for crying out loud!" Stevie practically yelled at her twin.

"Anybody who saw her after we found out what was wrong with you, when Mrs Reg came back, was really worried about her. She was pale all the time, hardly ever spoke and cried a lot. She even had trouble eating again. Not starving herself; just not eating much. A bit like Prancer when Lisa was in a coma except we couldn't bring her to see you because only family are allowed in here." Alex and Stevie just stared at Carole completely in awe.

"So do you forgive us Stevie?" Carole asked with a worried look in her eyes.

"Hmmm?" Stevie said in mock thoughtfulness. "I suppose I could find room in my heart for you three!" Stevie finished grinning.

"Good old Stevie's back!" Carole said also grinning before giving Stevie a high five.

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What do you think? Should I continue? Please, please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Hi everyone! 

_I'm not sure about meningitis patients but when my granny was in hospital she used her phone, so I based it on that. Sorry if it confused anyone!_

_Please R&R!_

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Chapter 7

Two weeks later, Stevie, Carole and Lisa were on the phone.

"I've gotta go guys, mum wants the phone." Lisa said to the other members of the saddle club. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Bye Lisa!" Carole and Stevie said in unison. Stevie waited until Lisa was off the phone before telling Carole the fabulous idea that had just formed in her head. "Carole, I just had a great idea!" Stevie said excitedly.

"What's that?"

"Well Alex is able to go back to normal stuff like school and horse riding tomorrow."

"Really! Why didn't you say earlier?"

"Because, Lisa was on the phone too. If I'd said then, the plan wouldn't work."

"Another great 'Stevie Lake' plan?"

"It sure is! So, you and Lisa arrive at normal time and Alex and I are really late."

"Yea…" Carole replied, waiting for Stevie to elaborate.

"You and Lisa go for a hack and when Alex and I arrive we go for a hack too. We'll take the shortcut to the waterfall."

"Let me guess," Carole said with a smile. "Lisa and I take the longer route and meet you there. Then we leave Alex and Lisa alone for a while?"

"That's the plan! What do you think? Romantic, huh!" Stevie said beaming from her position on her bed in her room.

"Definitely!" Carole replied with a grin identical to Stevie's.

The next day Lisa was waiting for Carole on the fence of the front paddock. When she saw Colonel Hanson's car, she jumped down from the fence and ran to greet Carole as she got out of the car.

Carole looked up as her dad drove into Pine Hollow and saw Lisa jump down from the fence and run towards her.

"Hi Lisa!" Carole called to Lisa waving.

"Hi Carole!" Lisa said as she reached Carole's car. "Where's Stevie?" she asked as Carole usually rang Stevie to make sure she was up on time.

"She said that she was going to be late." Carole said as she clambered out of the car.

"Why?" Lisa asked curiously as they both waved goodbye to Carole's father.

"Something about tidying up." Carole said as both girls made their way towards the horse's stables. Lisa privately thought to herself that if Stevie was tidying her room, then they could be waiting all day for her to arrive at the stables. Her room was very messy but it was just the way Stevie liked it.

"Hi Prancer!" Lisa spoke to the chestnut mare as soon as she reached her stable. She slipped inside and in the stable next-door Carole was just stepping inside.

"Hi Starlight!" she murmured to her gelding. "Want to go for a hack Lisa?" Carole called to Lisa in the stable next door.

"Sure." She heard Lisa call back. "Will Stevie know where to find us?"

"I told her on the phone that we might go for a hack." She slipped out of Starlight's stable just as Lisa was bolting Prancer's stable door and they walked over to the tack room.

"So," Lisa said as she lifted Prancer's saddle from its space on the wall. "Where are we going to go for this hack?"

"It's a surprise!" Carole said mysteriously to Lisa.

"Ooooh! A mystery!" Lisa said sarcastically as she slung Prancer's bridle over her shoulder.

"Come on," Carole called from the doorway of the tack room. "Let's go tack up for this 'mystery hack' as you call it." Giggling, Carole and Lisa left the tack room and went back to their horses. As they groomed and then tacked up Prancer and Starlight, they discussed whether or not to ask Mrs Reg for some food to bring and have a picnic. In the end they got enough food for themselves and Stevie if she turned up.

"I know Stevie has a big appetite but I don't think she'll eat that much!" Lisa said looking at the two extra portions that Carole was packing in her saddlebag. "Riding sometimes makes you hungry. So it's just in case we get extra hungry."

"Hmmm." Lisa said opening up her saddlebag and peering inside. "I suppose we're going to die of thirst without this much water and juice?" she said, indicating inside her open saddlebag, which held three flasks of juice and a bottle of water. Both girls giggled before turning towards the woods and starting their hack.

A short while after Carole and Lisa left for their hack, Stevie and Alex arrived at Pine Hollow. They waked into the stable block and headed for Starlight and Prancer's stables. They peered inside and noticed that they were empty.

"They've probably already gone for their hack." Stevie said to Alex turning away and starting towards Belle's stable. "If we hurry and tack up we'll be able to catch them."

"But they could be miles away by now!" Alex moaned, walking towards Comanche's stable, saddle and bridle in hand.

"Don't worry." Stevie said while sliding a body brush over Belle's back and legs. "I know a shortcut. We can meet them there."

"I hope they're still there when we arrive." Alex said putting down Comanche's hoof and hoisting his saddle into place.

"They will be." Stevie said confidently.


	8. Chapter 8

_Hi! I'm trying harder to update more frequently._

_I wanna thank Kambia so much for giving me such good advice and reviewing almost every chapter! I'm really grateful!_

**_Please R&R!_**

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Chapter 8

At the waterfall, Lisa was unpacking the saddlebags and Carole was sitting on a rock overlooking the river with the waterfall rushing down behind them, which was where they were going to eat their lunch. Stevie emerged from the trees astride Belle and turned her towards Carole. Carole looked up and smiled when she saw Stevie.

"Hi Stevie!" she said when Stevie reached her.

"Hi Carole!" Stevie said as she slid down from Belle's saddle.

"It's working! Lisa had never been here before so she didn't suspect a thing!" Carole said to Stevie.

"Great!" Stevie said grinning. Just then, Alex rode into sight.

"Hi Alex!" Carole greeted him.

"Alex, could you tie Belle for me when you're tying Comanche?" Stevie asked her twin.

"Sure." Alex said before dismounting and taking the reins from Stevie's hand and leading the two horses through the trees towards the waterfall. At that moment, Lisa appeared at the other side of Carole with the food.

"Hi Stevie!" Lisa said, placing the food on the rock. "I'm so glad you found us! Anything new?"

"Not really. Hey, I'm thirsty. Could you get me some juice?" Stevie said smiling innocently.

"What did your last slave die of?" Lisa asked indignantly.

"Love and appreciation!" Stevie said still smiling innocently. Lisa giggled.

"All right." she said, getting up from her position on the rock. "And no need to push me in later!"

"Awwwww." Stevie said, pretending to be disappointed. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess!" Lisa said giggling. She walked towards the waterfall and when her back was turned, Stevie gave Carole a high five.

Lisa was closing the saddlebag after lifting all the flasks and bottles from it. She turned and started to walk back towards where Stevie and Carole were sitting, flasks and bottles in her arms, when she heard a voice behind her.

"Lisa?" Lisa jumped when she heard her name and dropped all the drinks that she was carrying. She whirled around and saw Alex standing behind her.

"Alex?" Lisa said confused. "I thought that you had to stay at home and rest?"

"Well, I'm allowed to go back to horse riding today and school on Monday." He said, bending down to pick up the flasks and bottles that Lisa had dropped.

"That's great!" Lisa said, also bending down to pick up what she had dropped. "You must be so glad to be able to come and ride Comanche again." She said, straightening up. "He missed you."

"I… What?" Alex said, also straightening up. "But how could he tell? I haven't been riding him long."

"It doesn't matter how long you've been riding together, it's the bond there is between you." She said glancing over at the horses grazing contentedly. Then she looked back at Alex "And even anyone who didn't know what happened knew something was wrong when both you and Stevie stopped coming to lessons. Looking on you missed him too."

"He isn't the only thing I missed." He said.

"Your friends? Teasing Stevie? School?" she asked him.

"All of those." he said with a smile. "But none are what I missed most." He said. He looked back over at the horses to hide the fact that he was blushing.

"What was that?" she asked him. He turned back towards her.

"You." He said shocking Lisa.

"_Me_?" Lisa said looking bewildered. "But why would you miss _me_ most?"

"I missed spending time with you, having fun with you and seeing you smile." He said.

"Really? _Me_." She said sceptically scanning his face to see if this was some sort of joke.

"I missed you too." She said when she saw that Alex was totally serious. "I was afraid that you would be permanently sick."

"Well, I'm better now." He said, as she looked a bit sad when she said about her fear. "The thought of seeing you again really helped me to get better. So, do you want to go to TD's later?"

"Sure." Lisa said with a smile.

Behind the trees Stevie and Carole looked at each other. They had seen and heard everything that was going on with Alex and Lisa.

"That worked out perfectly!" Stevie said to Carole.

"Yeah," Carole replied. "They make such a cute couple!" she said with a smile.

"I'll make sure that Michael and Chad don't go to TD's tonight."

"You haven't really changed." Carole said looking at Stevie. "Just realised that you're best the way you are!"

Back at Pine Hollow, a car pulled up outside the stables and two boys got out. They were Michael and Chad Lake and they started to look around the stables.

"Stevie! Stevie!" they called. Mrs Reg heard the calls and came out of her office to find the two boys.

"Hello. Looking for Stevie?" The two boys whirled around in alarm when they heard her voice but visibly relaxed when they saw Mrs Reg. The two boys nodded and Mrs Reg spoke again. "She's down by the waterfall." The boys just looked back at her with confused looks on their faces before she added, "The quickest way is that way." Before pointing in the direction that Stevie and Alex had taken earlier. Chad mumbled,

"Thanks." before dragging Michael off through the trees in the direction Mrs Reg had indicated.

When Chad and Michael reached the clearing where the four were eating their picnic, they hid behind some trees and spied on their brother and sister.

"Look Chad! Alex is there too!" Michael whispered excitedly to his older brother.

"Duh!" Chad whispered back. "He's into horses now too!"

"But, he's with Stevie, Carole and uh… what's that other girl's name?"

"The little one with the curly hair? I think it's Lisa."

"Yes!" Michael punched the air in silent jubilation. "We can finally tease Alex about his girlfriend! Look!" He pointed to where the four were sitting and Alex and Lisa holding hands.

"He likes Lisa?" Chad said stunned. "But she's _fifteen _and_ one of Stevie's best friends_!"

"One year older than me!" Michael said proudly.

"They're heading back!" Chad said noticing the four on the other side of the trees mounting their horses. "Let's wait at the stables." And with that, Michael and Chad ran back to the stables to wait for Alex and Stevie.


	9. Chapter 9

Hi! Sorry it took so long for me to update!

I just finished my mock GCSEs and i'm really not optimistic as to how i've done. Maybe some nice reviews will cheer me up! ;-P

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Chapter 9

Stevie, Carole, Lisa and Alex rode back into the yard laughing and joking.

"Stevie, Alex! Hurry up! Mum's waiting!" Stevie and Alex twisted round in their saddles to see who had spoken. When they saw Michael and Chad they said,

"Coming!" in unison and then the four dismounted and led their horses into the stable block.

"We'll untack for you." Carole said to the twins.

"Thanks Carole." They said before Stevie ran off to her mother's car calling goodbyes to the two remaining girls. "Bye Carole, see you later Lisa." Alex said before running after his sister.

"I'll untack Belle and you do Comanche." Carole suggested.

"Sure." Lisa said and the two girls set to work untacking and rubbing down the four horses.

Later that night Lisa was looking at her reflection in the mirror to make sure she looked alright before going to meet Alex at TD's. She was wearing a pink top with spaghetti straps that was embroidered with white along the bottom. Over that she wore a white shrug jacket with pink spots and elbow length sleeves along with dark skinny jeans with pink and white embroidered flowers up one of the legs and a pair of white pumps. She grabbed her purse and ran downstairs and out the door, calling goodbye to her mother and Melanie as she went.

When Lisa arrived at TD's, she found Alex there waiting for her.

"Hi Alex." Lisa said when she saw him and he smiled at her.

"Hi Lisa. You look great!" He said looking at her outfit.

"Thanks." She said; a slight pink tinge crept across her cheeks when he said this. "So do you." Alex was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a white hoodie with 'quicksilver' scrawled across it in red writing. The two went inside, not noticing Chad and Michael sneak in behind them and sit in the booth behind theirs. Alex and Lisa started talking with Chad and Michael eavesdropping behind them.

A few minutes later, a waitress came over to take their order.

"I'll have the fudge sundae please." Alex said. This was the same thing that Alex ordered every time he went to TD's.

"And I'll have the sorbet special please." Lisa said. The waitress walked off muttering to herself,

"I should've known!" as this also was Lisa's usual order.

"I don't see why you always get the sorbet special!" Alex said with a smile on his face.

"For the same reason that you always get the fudge sundae." She replied also smiling "I like it!"

"Yes, but it's easy to understand why you would like a fudge sundae. I mean; it's ice cream and hot fudge sauce! But sorbet? It's just like different flavours of melting ice!"

"It is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Prove it!" They went on playfully arguing until the waitress came back with their orders and they started talking about what Alex had missed at Pine Hollow and in lessons while he was in hospital. Meanwhile, Chad and Michael were listening in on their conversation and drinking in every word.

When Alex and Lisa were finished their ice creams, they went up to the counter and paid for their ice creams. At first Alex went to pay for Lisa's ice cream as well, but Lisa insisted on paying for her own ice cream. "Well, well, well" Chad whispered to Michael "Our brother is a little gentleman!" When the ice creams were paid for, Alex and Lisa went to the cinema. Since Lisa hadn't let Alex pay for her ice cream, he insisted on paying for her movie ticket and the popcorn and drinks. Lisa reluctantly agreed but was secretly pleased.

Chad and Michael were peeking out from behind a cardboard cut out add for High School Musical 3.

"I hope they don't go and see this!" Chad said disdainfully.

"They're going to see the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie." Michael said.

"Cool, I've been meaning to go and see that."

A few hours later, Alex and Lisa came out of the cinema and headed for the exit from the mall.

"We'd better wait here for about 15 minutes to make sure he doesn't suspect that we followed him." Michael said.

"Good idea! Why didn't I think of that?" Chad said looking confused.

As Alex and Lisa walked home, they talked about their lesson on Tuesday. They reached Lisa's house first and she gave him a kiss on the cheek before going inside. Alex went home and 10 minutes later; Chad and Michael entered the house.

"Where have you been?" their mother asked.

"We…" Michael started.

"Were at the cinema." Chad finished. "It's true." He whispered to Michael as they went upstairs to their rooms. "We just left out some important details."

"Like the fact that we were following Alex while he was on his date?" Michael asked with an evil gin on his face.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next day at school, Carole and Lisa were walking around the playground talking about horses.

"So," Lisa asked, perching herself up on the fence that ran around the football field. "Do you want to go for a hack to exercise Starlight and Prancer this afternoon?"

"Sure." Carole said, leaning against the fence that Lisa was sitting on.

"We'll ask Stevie and Alex if they want to come when they arrive at Pine Hollow." Carole said looking over towards the school canteen. "I wonder if they're still doing food? Do you want to share a chip if they are?"

"Sure." Lisa said and she was about to jump down from the fence when Carole said "You wait there and I'll go get them." And then she ran off towards the canteen.

While Lisa was waiting for Carole to come back, she stared towards the fields behind the school. She imagined Prancer galloping along the fields with herself on Prancer's back. She imagined her hair and Prancer's mane and tail flowing in the wind. She imagined jumping the hedges and fences dividing the fields and was remembering the feeling of flying when Prancer jumped when Carole crept up behind her and said,

"BOO!" right in her ear.

Lisa screamed and toppled right off the fence. She sat up and saw Carole, laughing her head off.

"CAROLE!" she shouted. "You scared me!" She threw some grass at Carole and it landed in her hair and she shook her head to get it all off, making her look like she was a horse and both girls started to giggle again.

"So, did you get the chips?" Lisa asked as soon as she stopped giggling.

"I did." Carole said showing Lisa the small box in her hands and both girls sat on the fence, eating their chips and Lisa told Carole what she had been thinking about and they spent the rest of their lunchtime thinking up places where they would love to ride.

Later on that evening, after their hack, Lisa was out shopping. She stopped at a café to have a drink before going home. While Lisa was inside the café, Michael and Chad emerged from the boys' toilets. Michael was wearing stilts and some of Alex's clothes. Chad had taken some of his mother's make-up from her bedroom and put it on Michael to make him look older. With the make-up on to make him look older and the stilts to make him look taller; he looked just like Alex.

"Do you know the plan?" Chad whispered to Michael.

"Yep." He answered.

"Good. Ready Michael?"

"As I'll ever be!"

"Go then!" And with that, Michael tottered into the café and over to where Lisa sat. Lisa noticed him and waved, thinking he was Alex. Michael was as horrible to Lisa as he could be before going back to where Chad was waiting, leaving Lisa upset, hurt and angry. Lisa paid for her drink and left the café.

Alex was out shopping too he saw Lisa leave the café and thought he would go and say hello. Michael and Chad saw him and scampered into the bathrooms to wash the make up off and for Michael to change before they crept back out and watched.

Veronica diAngelo and Kristi Cavanaugh were also out shopping that day. They were coming out of one of the expensive designer shops when they spotted Lisa leaving the café and Alex walking towards her.

"Look Kristi," Veronica said as she nudged Kristi. "It's Lisa and Alex. Let's spy on them!" She said with an evil grin on her face. Leaning up against the wall they pretended to talk but watching Alex and Lisa closely.

"Hi." Alex said when he reached Lisa but she ignored him. Alex wondered why she was ignoring him but he shook it off thinking 'perhaps she didn't hear me.' "Do you want to go out tomorrow? That new Harry Potter movie is showing at the cinema." he said indicating the poster for that particular movie.

"No thanks." Lisa said coldly.

"Oh. OK." Alex said a little taken aback. "Well, are you going to the Horse Wise meet next Sunday?"

"What meet?" Lisa asked whirling round to face him. Alex smiled a little when he got her attention and replied. "The one about your bond with your horse. You know, the one where the horse whispering is the main event."

"I might." Lisa said undecidedly. Adopting her cold toned voice once again.

"I might see you there then?" Alex said a little disappointed that Lisa didn't seem to want to talk to him.

"Maybe…" Lisa said in the same cold and indecisive tone.

"Do you want to get an ice cream at TD's?" he asked hoping that she would say yes or at least start a proper conversation. But Lisa simply whirled around with an angry look on her face and tears in her eyes.

"Why should I Alex Lake?" she yelled at him before pushing past him and running home crying, leaving Alex staring after her confused.

Just outside the toilets, Michael and Chad celebrated their plan being successful and Veronica and Kristi were also staring at Alex and the spot where Lisa had stood moments before.

"What's up with her?" Veronica said confused. Kristi hesitated, noticing Chad and Michael high fiving and noticing the stilts and clothes hanging out of the backpack they were holding. She saw a make up brush fall out of the backpack and guessed what had happened. She remembered Veronica's question and quickly said

"No idea." She and Veronica looked back at Alex who was just coming back to his senses and he looked upset, hurt and confused.

"Poor Alex! I'll be there for him!" she said with an evil grin on her face.

Lisa ran up to her room as soon as she got home and lay on her bed, tears streaming down her face. Her mother came into the room.

"Lisa, someone's on the phone for you." Lisa sat up and took the phone from her mother.

"Thanks mum." she said smiling weakly at her mother before the latter left to go and finish cooking their dinner. "Hello?" Lisa said tentatively, hoping that it wasn't Alex.

"Hi Lisa." Lisa heard Carole's cheery voice from the other end of the phone.

"Hi Carole. What's up?"

"Guess what I just did!"

"Did you get us another gig?"

"Yes! At the Horse Wise meet next Sunday!"

"Sunday? But that's just over a week to practice!"

"Yes, but I'm sure we can do it. We can practice on Sunday morning too." Carole said breathlessly. "I've called Stevie and we're going to practice at her house every day after riding."

"Oh," Lisa said feeling uncomfortable. "Can't we practice at your house or mine?" she asked hopefully.

"Well, Stevie has microphones and all the backing tracks on CD's. Alex can play guitar too."

"Oh."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"N-no." Lisa said her voice cracking and she broke down and started crying again.

"Lisa? Come on, you can tell me."

"Alright." Lisa said, gulping.

Alex walked home with his hands in his pockets, deep in thought. When he got home, he walked into the living room and slumped in a sofa. Stevie walked into the living room and spotted Alex.

"Hey Alex. Guess what Carole just…" she spotted Alex's expression. "…did." she finished. "What's wrong?" Alex sighed and then spoke.

"I met Lisa at the mall." he said simply.

"So…" Stevie said waiting for him to elaborate. "Explain everything."

"So," Carole said. "Alex really said all that?"

"Yep. And then he came back up to me as if nothing had happened!"

"Oh Lisa. I'm so sorry!"

"That's OK Carole." Lisa said. "So, I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yea, see you there." Lisa hung up and Carole put the phone back and sat wishing that there was some way that she could help Lisa.

"Hmmm." Stevie said thoughtfully. "That isn't like Lisa."

"I know." Alex replied. "That's why I'm so confused."

"Maybe she just had a bad day." Stevie suggested.

"Maybe…" Alex murmured. "See you tomorrow Stevie." Alex said before going up to bed. Stevie sat on the sofa and she too wished that she could do something to help.

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**A/N: I have no idea what sort of things Michael would've said so use your imaginaton! I wouldn't usually talk to people much so I'm much too shy to even really criticise a friend's work, let alone say anything as bad as Michael would have. Heck, it took me about two years of writing this story before I worked up enough courage to put it up here! Before that I only let my sister read it!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I don't own any of the songs that are mentioned in this chapter, i'm pretending that the Saddle Club wrote them. It also goes without saying that I don't own The Saddle club, otherwise I wouldn't be writing on _fan_fiction would I?**_**

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Chapter 11

The next day, Lisa was sitting on her usual fence, waiting for Carole and Stevie. She was thinking about how awkward it would be at Stevie's house that night when Carole arrived.

"Hi Lisa!" Carole called as she ran to sit with Lisa and wait for Stevie. "So," Carole said as she clambered onto the fence. "How are you?" she asked looking at Lisa with eyes full of concern.

"I've been better." Lisa said sighing. "Oh look!" Lisa pointed along the driveway. "Here comes Stevie!" The two girls sat watching the car drawing closer. They were both glad that Stevie was here but both had mixed emotions about Alex coming. Carole was worried about Lisa and how Alex being here would affect her. Pine Hollow was a source of comfort for all three girls but it would be difficult if the reason you needed comfort was right there with you. Lisa was afraid that she would cry or that Max or Mrs Reg would pair them up for lessons or stable jobs.

The car drew to a halt and Stevie stepped out and both girls waved cheerfully at her. Stevie smiled back and then Alex stepped out of the car. Stevie saw Lisa tense and Carole glance at Lisa and gave a small reassuring smile. Alex too noticed this and waved goodbye to his mother before walking into the stable block sighing.

"What'd I do Lisa?" he whispered as he looked back at her.

Meanwhile, Stevie approached Carole and Lisa.

"Hi guys!" she said cheerfully. "I can't wait to start practicing tonight. Can you?"

"It's going to be so cool!" Carole squealed excitedly.

"I can't wait until the meet!" Lisa piped up. "It's going to be loads of fun and then we get to sing at the dance after it!" The three girls walked into the stable block and headed straight for the tack room. They set to work grooming and tacking their horses humming various songs. Alex watched Lisa humming as she groomed from Comanche's stall which was just across the stable block. He noticed how Prancer watched Lisa work and how much they trusted each other.

"Lisa trusts Prancer with her life and vice versa by the looks of it." He muttered to Comanche. "I wish I knew why Lisa is so angry with me." he said wistfully to Comanche while glancing back at Lisa.

Alex went on his favourite trail while the three girls went into the indoor school. Stevie, Carole and Lisa practiced their jumping while chatting. Though she needed to concentrate, Lisa found her mind wandering. She wondered why Alex would say all that he said to her in the café and then act like he hadn't seen her since their ride at Pine Hollow. Carole glanced at Lisa and saw that she was completely unaware of what she was doing, as she was lost in thought. She sighed and turned Starlight towards the jump that she had just raised.

Out on the trail, Alex was having as much trouble focusing as Lisa. He couldn't fathom why Lisa would suddenly get so angry with him for something he didn't do. He subconsciously turned Comanche round and headed back to Pine Hollow.

Alex dismounted as soon as he reached the yard. He led Comanche into the stable block and tied him to the ring outside his stable. He untacked him and headed towards the tack room.

Inside the tack room, Kristi was talking to Lisa. Lisa was perched on the railing where the spare saddles were kept and Kristi was leaning against the wall.

"Have you written any new songs lately?" Kristi asked Lisa.

"No, but Carole and Stevie are waiting for me in the lounge. We're going to try and write a new one for the Horse Wise meet on Sunday." Lisa replied, hopping down from her seat.

"Can't wait to hear it!" Kristi said smiling. No matter what she told Veronica, she liked The Saddle Club's music. Lisa turned to leave just as Alex walked into the tack room. They both looked up and noticed each other at the same time. Alex was about to say something when Lisa put her head down and walked past Alex, trying not to brush his arm as she passed but as he was standing holding a saddle in the doorway, she failed. Alex sighed and put Comanche's tack on the rail where Lisa had previously sat. He grabbed some saddle soap and set to work.

Carole and Stevie sat in the lounge with a glass of juice in their hand, waiting for Lisa.

"Hey, why don't we ask Deborah if we can borrow her laptop?" Stevie suggested.

"That's a great idea!" Carole said. "We could email the lyrics to the studio and then they could write the music."

"Hi guys!" Lisa called to the two girls on the sofa as she closed the door behind her.

"Hi Lisa!" Stevie said turning round in her seat to face her. "Toss me a few biscuits please!" Lisa retaliated to this by chucking the biscuits at Stevie's head. Stevie shrieked and ducked to avoid being hit by the biscuits but a few still managed to hit her head leaving Carole in peals of laughter.

"So, Lisa, we were thinking about asking Deborah if we could borrow her laptop to write the song on." Carole said when she had finished laughing. "Great idea!" Lisa said poking her head out of the fridge.

"We could check and see if we've got a reply from Avril."

"Why would we get a reply from Avril Lavigne?" Stevie asked.

"Don't you remember?" Lisa said disbelievingly, extracting a bottle of water from the fridge. "Not Avril Lavigne, Avril Marez!" she said closing the fridge before leaning against it. "You know; our music producer. She'll be sending us the music we sent to her two weeks ago."

"Come on. Let's go and ask Deborah." Carole said, jumping up from the sofa.

The three girls went into the stable block and up the stairs to the office where Deborah was working on the computer. They knocked and Deborah looked up from her work and gave them a warm smile.

"Come on in girls!" she said beckoning them to come inside the office.

"Deborah, can we borrow your laptop?" Carole asked. "We're going to write a new song and we need to check for a reply on Lisa's email account."

"Of course girls." Deborah said, walking over to a cabinet and pulling out the laptop in its case. As she pulled it out, she asked the girls about their music.

"That sounds like fun!" she said, smiling. "If I'm not here when you're finished, just put it in this case and then in the cabinet." she said indicating the case which she left on the floor beside the desk.

"Hmmmmm. How about Let's Dance?" Stevie said, lying upside down on the sofa in the lounge.

"Yea, and Never Underestimate a Girl!" Carole too suggested. Lisa sat with her legs crossed and the Laptop perched on top typing down all the ideas.

"What about Say OK?" she suggested, opening up her email account. "Avril sent us a demo and she wants us to meet her at the dance studio tonight." Lisa said to the two girls who looked at each other quizzically before returning to thinking of ideas for songs.

"Afraid."

"Whatever will Be."

"Let Go."

"Oooh! I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker!" The suggestions were called out to each other and Lisa wrote everything down and then they set to work writing the lyrics.

That night, the three girls walked to the dance studio with their sports bags slung over their shoulders. When they entered they found Avril waiting for them at the side of the studio.

"I hope you don't mind," she said walking towards them. "But I got them to do a dance mix of the song as well."

"Cool." Carole said smiling. "But why did you want to meet us here?"

"Well, you could sing it now and I'll decide whether or not I'll let you use it." she said, smiling impishly. She started the music and the three girls started to sing. "Very good!" Avril said, impressed, when they had finished. "Of course you can use it. I hope you have fun at your dance with this one!" The trio squealed and then rushed to hug her.

"Alright, shall we start with the dance moves?" They went to the changing rooms and came out with sports shorts, hoodies and a vest top on, each in different colours. Carole's vest top was lilac; her sports shorts were deep plum with green lining and her hoodie a deep plum with 'Carole' written across the back in green lettering. Stevie's vest top was pale blue, her sports shorts were deep blue with white lining and her hoodie was deep blue with 'Stevie' written across the back in white lettering. Lisa's vest top was orange, her sports shorts were pink with turquoise lining and her hoodie was pink with 'Lisa' written in turquoise lettering across the back. They each wore a pair of red trainers and long white socks lined with red. Avril started the music and with that, started the fun of the evening which made all three girls forget their troubles but made their sides hurt from giggling so much.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry this one is so short, it's sort of a filler. So, to make up for it, i'll post 3 updates!

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Chapter 12

The afternoon light shone through the window of the spare room at the Lake's house. Alex was standing beside the window, playing the guitar parts for the music the girls had just received from the recording company. Meanwhile the three girls were singing and dancing around the room having a laugh. Carole was making silly faces and putting on silly voices to match while she sang and Stevie was doing 'interpretational dancing' as she called it but a better name for it was 'acting like a monkey'! Lisa was laughing so hard that she started to cry and had temporarily forgotten that Alex was in the room. Though, she was brought back to earth with a thump when Alex spoke from the back of the room. "We'd better get going if we want to get to Pine Hollow before it gets dark." The three girls looked at each other, and then sprinted out of the room and towards Stevie's room at full speed. Chuckling to himself, Alex lifted his guitar and headed towards his own room.

The four arrived at Pine Hollow fifteen minutes later and Stevie and Alex jumped out of the car and ran towards the stables laughing and joking. Carole thanked Mrs Lake for driving them to Pine Hollow, then stepped out of the car and waited for Lisa to get out. Lisa also thanked Mrs Lake and stepped out of the car. As Mrs Lake drove off, Lisa stood with her eyes closed and the wind blowing her hair around her face, trying to leave behind her troubles so as not to ruin her friends' fun. She then opened her eyes and the two girls headed along the same path that the Lake twins had rushed along a few minutes prior.

Kristi walked into the stable block and started to walk towards the tack room. On her way there, she noticed Alex glance from Comanche's stable at Lisa across the aisle and then look back at the spot on Comanche's back that he was brushing. She noticed Lisa do the exact same thing from Prancer's stable but as she looked over, tears welled up in her eyes and she had to hide her face in Prancer's neck to stop the tears falling and to suppress a sob. Kristi sighed and continued on her way to the tack room, wishing that there were something she could do to help.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Darkness swept through Pine Hollow as nightfall drew nearer. The Saddle Club were putting their horses out to the field for the night as Alex headed for the tack room. When he entered, he saw Veronica and Kristi gathering their belongings and getting ready to go home. He heaved the saddle up to one of the higher racks and it landed with a thump. The two gossiping girls looked up and when they saw Alex, Kristi sighed sympathetically and Veronica smiled. Veronica immediately started flirting with Alex and expressing her beliefs that Lisa just wasn't right for him. Alex was gradually becoming extremely uncomfortable and was glad when Veronica's mum arrived to pick her up.

"Kristi," Alex asked tentatively, "Do you know how Veronica knew about me and Lisa?"

"We were out shopping and we saw what happened."

"Oh?"

"And," Kristi began. "I think I know why Lisa was really upset."

"Really?" Alex asked turning round looking apprehensive.

"Well, when Lisa went home, I saw your two brothers. They had a backpack and there were stilts and some of your clothes in it. As I looked at it, a make up brush fell out of it. So I think they disguised Michael as you and he must've done something to make Lisa upset"

"Thanks Kristi!" Alex said warmly. "Maybe I can fix this after all!"

The next morning, all four riders were at the stables helping out as it was a Friday and they had no homework. Lisa was mucking out Prancer's stable when Alex approached her.

"Hi Lisa." he said from the doorway. Lisa jumped but then resumed ignoring him. "Look, Lisa, about the other day at the mall I…" Lisa picked up her wheelbarrow and wheeled it past Alex and towards the muckheap. Alex sighed and wandered off to find Stevie. 'Maybe she could talk to Lisa' he thought to himself. Lisa put new shavings down on Prancer's bed and stood back to admire her handiwork. She lifted Prancer's feed bucket from outside the stable door and set off towards the grain barn.

That week, Red O'Malley, Pine Hollow's head stable hand had his friend come in to do some part time stable work so that Red could get Saturdays off. His friend Jake didn't know much about horses. Such as the fact that wet hay can catch fire as it dries out in a hot place. The previous night, the hay had arrived and Jake had been placed in charge of bringing it in before it rained. He forgot and by the time he brought the hay in, it was soaked. He told Max and Red that he had brought the hay in before the rain started so nobody predicted any trouble. Jake had been unsure as to which way to arrange the hay bales so he put them in a large square shape with the middle part empty.

The feed barn was hot and stuffy when Lisa entered and it made her even more tired than she had already been. She clambered over the hay and fell asleep in between all of the hay bales. While Lisa was asleep, the hay bales caught on fire and a fierce fire was soon blazing throughout the feed barn.

Lisa's eyelids fluttered open and within seconds she was coughing and spluttering with the thick smoke from the fire enveloping her. She tried to stay calm and remember the safety rules her mother had taught her when she was little. The only rule that came to her head was to stay close to the ground, as that was where there was the most oxygen. Lisa bent down and lay stretched out on her stomach on the floor of the feed barn that had been occupied by many joyous people only a few weeks prior and silently prayed that someone would rescue her.

Max Regnery was looking for his stable hands when he heard the crackling and spitting behind him. He turned around and was faced with a terrible sight. The feed barn was quickly going up in flames. Max ran to the office to raise the alarm. The alarm told everyone to assemble outside the stable block, just opposite the feed barn. Once everyone had assembled, Max and Mrs Reg did a head count.

"There's one missing mum." Max said to Mrs Reg. Just then, a piercing whinny came from the field and everyone turned to see. Prancer was going buck mad in the field; galloping around and bucking, then galloping towards the feed barn, rearing and the same piercing whinny emitted from her mouth.

In the midst of all of the confusion, Alex's mind was in turmoil. Questions swam in his head, their echoes ringing in his ears. One question stood out amongst the others. Its echo reverberating in his eardrums: 'Where are they?' He soon spotted his sister amongst the crowd of confused and frightened riders. Her back was turned but she, along with Carole beside her, seemed to be contemplating the possible causes of the fire. His eyes scanned the area where the two girls stood, searching in vain for the familiar brunette curls. His heart thumped so loudly, he wondered how nobody around him could hear it and its pace quickened as his head rang with a single question.

"Where are you Lisa?" he murmured softly as he continued to search for her, growing increasingly fretful by the second. His mind raged with thoughts of where she may be. His blood ran cold and the colour drained from his face as he slowly turned towards the feed storage barn; praying with all his heart that she wasn't inside.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, accompanied by glass shattering and preceded by splintering wood. It sounded to Alex that the beams holding up the roof were giving way. As the people closest to the barn jumped backwards in alarm at the sound, Alex stood rooted to the spot. He glanced around at the chattering crowd surrounding him, questioning why everyone was worrying solely about their horses' feed. He had heard a scream. He was sure of it. Someone was _inside_ the feed barn. He turned frantically to his left and-out of the corner of his eye-he saw Prancer continuing to gallop to and fro, emitting the same shrill whinny but there was a new edge to it. As if she too had heard the scream.

The evidence clicked into place in his brain and he whirled round and stared at the barn in disbelief with his pounding heart. He tried to call out but his voice came out as no more than a whisper, faint with fear just as he was himself.

"Lisa!" Without thinking, he sprinted towards the barn, not hearing when someone called out his name and not seeing when people turned to stare at him with disbelief freezing their features in place. He kept on running, past the frightened crowd and frenzied horses with tears beginning to form in his eyes and Lisa the only thought on his mind.

Stevie and Carole were debating animatedly over whether or not the fire could be arson when Alex came flying past them. Stevie noticed where he was headed and her stomach twisted in fear. She called out to him but it was no use. Her plea had fallen on ears that were deaf to the world. Her eyes suddenly blazed with understanding.

"That's it!" She exclaimed. "Ugh! How could I be so stupid! Why didn't I see before!"

"What are you on about Stevie?" Carole asked warily, shocked by Stevie's sudden outburst.

"Prancer isn't scared of the flames!" She squealed, her voice shooting through two octaves. "She's scared about Lisa!" Carole's hands flew to her mouth and her voice too, was reduced to a frightened whisper

"You don't mean…"

"Why else would he run in there like that?" Stevie murmured, her voice thick with emotion. The two girls stood, rooted to the spot with fear, watching the blazing storage barn that held not only feed and hay, but also two of their best friends.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Alex coughed and spluttered as he entered the barn. He looked around himself warily as he eyed the flames raging in the centre of the barn. The flames reached the full height of the barn, setting the supporting beams and roof alight. As his eyes scanned the small barn, he grew increasingly frantic. His breathing edged towards hyperventilation until he spotted a small figure sprawled at the base of the flames. Without thinking, he lunged towards the figure, dragging the small form towards the door. His vision was starting to swim with the lack of oxygen so he scooped the petite form into his arms and ducked out the door.

Carole stood facing the barn that was the source of the blaze where Stevie's twin brother was currently searching for their best friend. She had been spending her time trying to console Stevie and reassure her that both her brother and Lisa would be fine, not an easy feat when she was in need of reassurance of the very same thing. So Stevie ended up standing with her back to the blazing barn, too afraid to look for herself and relying on Carole's updates on whether either of the two emerged. As she stood, frightened by Carole's silence, a single, solitary tear slid down her face, splashing on the dirt beneath her. Carole gasped beside her and she whirled round to see Alex stumbling out of the barn with a small, dishevelled looking figure in his arms. The two girls shared a relieved and curious glance before sprinting to meet him. As they raced past the Regnerys and Red, the four looked up and saw the two girls rushing towards Alex and shared a curious and fearful glance of their own before hurrying to see what the commotion was about. When the five reached him, Alex glanced up from the figure in his arms, who, when they were close enough, they could identify with a jolt of fear and horror in their stomachs as a barely recognisable Lisa.

"Deborah, ring an ambulance!" Max called over his shoulder to the approaching Deborah.

"Will she be alright Mrs Reg?" Carole asked fearfully, her eyes flashing to Mrs Reg's face.

"I don't know Carole. We'll just have to hope."

"Don't worry Lisa," Alex murmured to her motionless form, sweeping her hair from her eyes. "You'll be alright." He pressed his lips to her forehead and mumbled, "I promise."

Lisa felt someone lift her through the fog in her brain. She wanted to cry out, to tell them she needed to stay close to the ground, but her reactions were slow due to the lethargy brought on by the smoke. Then, suddenly she felt fresh air around her and she realised that she was outside. She heard footsteps grinding towards her and her rescuer through the dirt and then several gasps. She heard voices and struggled to recognise words and identify voices but it was as if they were miles away. The voices fell silent and she felt pressure against her forehead and a familiar voice murmuring something but she couldn't pin what was being said or the voice. Just then there was a big commotion and the sound of grinding tyres came soon after that. Lisa felt herself being lifted and jostled around and immediately she wished she was back in the protective and gentle arms of her rescuer. From somewhere nearby, she heard a steady rhythmic beeping and she felt something large and warm envelop her small hand before she blacked out.


	15. Chapter 15

Hi! I'm going to London this weekend to see The Lion King! =D So, i'll give you 4 chapters to make up for my absence!

* * *

**Chapter 15**

All three Saddle Club members along with Alex and Phil sat in the hospital room. Alex, Stevie, Phil and Carole sat in plastic chairs beside the bed where Lisa lay motionless, hooked up to many machines. The steady beeping from the heart monitor calmed the four of them and eased their worrying. Lisa's parents were having lunch in the café downstairs but their worry wasn't quite as profound as they hadn't seen the incident first hand. They had only seen Lisa after treatment whereas the memory of Lisa's appearance would haunt the four until they saw Lisa awake and could tell she was alright.

Alex stood silently and began pacing at the foot of the bed. He knew Lisa was still mad at him because she believed that it was him who had insulted her when it had in fact been his brother, Michael. He couldn't bear the thought of never being able to make up with Lisa.

Stevie glanced over at her brother and sighed, knowing that this was hardest on him, especially since Lisa and himself weren't on the best of terms before. She glanced towards Carole and Phil and saw that they looked just how she felt; a mix of emotions, the strongest being sympathy for Alex and fear and worry about Lisa. She motioned for Carole and Phil to follow her and the three stood and left Alex in the room with the unconscious Lisa.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Stevie turned to the others. "Alright," she started placing her hands on her hips. "This has gone on far too long."

"You're right Stevie, we have to fix it." Carole added with a glance over her shoulder, through the small glass window, at Alex's worried pacing, glancing every few seconds at Lisa.

"But how?" Phil added. "We don't even know what…" Phil stopped short, contemplating, "Hang on, Stevie, did Alex tell you his story?"

"Yea…" Stevie said slowly, wondering where Phil was going with this.

"And Carole, did Lisa tell you hers?"

"Yea, I called her to tell her about the meet and she was uncomfortable with the practices being at your house so she told me. She wanted to tell you too Stevie, but didn't simply because Alex was your twin and he no doubt would have confided in you, so she was afraid you would believe his story; whatever it was; and not hers."

"Right," Phil started, an expression of concentration on his face. "What's Alex's story Stevie?"

"He said he was out shopping and he saw Lisa coming out of the café so he went over to talk to her but she blew him off really coldly each time and eventually yelled at him and ran off crying."

"Hmmmmm." Phil mused for a second before turning to Carole. "What did Lisa say about it?"

"She said that she was in the café and Alex came up to her," Carole thought for a moment before continuing, "I can't remember the exact words but I do remember that they were really horrible. Then she said he left and she paid for her drink and left too. Then we come to Alex's story. So, he came up to her and acted as if nothing had happened after all he had said." The three looked at each other for a few moments before Stevie spoke.

"Alex didn't mention _that_." She said quietly.

"None of it makes any sense." Phil commented, deep in thought. Their conversation was interrupted when Kristi walked up the corridor carrying a bouquet of flowers.

"Hi." She said when she reached the three. "How's Lisa?"

"Still unconscious." Carole said with a sigh.

"Oh," Kristi murmured. "I know it's none of my business, but why are you out here then? I thought you would stay with her until she was at least awake."

"We're trying to figure out how to fix Lisa and Alex's relationship. Well, first we need to figure out what happened." Stevie replied, once again deep in thought.

"Oh, you mean Lisa still thinks it was Alex who spoke to her before she left the café?" Kristi asked, confused. "But Alex said he was going to talk to her about it."

"You mean, you know what happened?" Carole asked.

"Sure," Kristi said eagerly, glad she could help if even in a small way. "It was your brother, Stevie. You know, Michael."

"Well, Michael does look like Alex, but, he's smaller and visibly younger."

"Yea, but what if he was wearing stilts, Alex's clothes and make-up?"

"He would look…" Phil and Carole said drifting off in confusion, looking to Stevie for the answer.

"…just like Alex!" Stevie finished. "And you told Alex this?" She asked glancing towards her twin before looking at Kristi.

"Yea, and he said he was going to talk to Lisa." She paused, thoughtful, before continuing. "However, this wasn't too long before the fire, he may not have had a chance."

"Hmmmmm, well, we should probably get back in there, we can figure out what to do when Lisa wakes up. We can't get them talking until they're both conscious." Phil suggested, starting towards the door. The others followed and they took their seats by Lisa's side and all thought of how they could fix the problem that Michael had caused. Stevie cursed internally, 'When everything is back to normal, I'm going to kill those two!'


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Images swirled around Lisa's mind so quickly; she couldn't make out what most of them were. However, the images that came now were of recent events and she felt flickers of strong emotions as she watched them. Happiness as she watched memories of the four of them messing around at practice for various gigs. Love as she watched Prancer flying through the air and racing along the ground beneath her. Sadness, pain and anger as she saw Alex in the café and how he behaved afterwards, and fear as the memories of the fire in the barn were revisited in her mind. 'I need to get away from this!' Lisa thought as the more painful memories played through her mind. She could feel the darkness around her and struggled to get away from it. Somewhere, far in the distance, she saw a light. She struggled towards it and as she drew nearer, the light grew into the tunnel. She could now feel her body again and she could hear the same steady beeping to her right. Her body was stiff from lack of movement for two or three days so she decided not to try a difficult movement and twitched her fingers and tried moving each finger slowly.

The room was silent apart from the steady dripping from the IV feed, the steady beeping of Lisa's heart on the monitor and Alex's worried pacing footsteps. The occasional sigh or yawn broke the silence but the five rarely spoke except to inform Lisa's worried parents that she hadn't changed before they rushed off to work, unable to entirely focus on their daily duties with half of their minds focused on Lisa. With five pairs of anxious eyes on her, no movement could go unnoticed, no matter how small. Alex was still pacing at the foot of Lisa's bed, Kristi sitting beside the bed with Phil, Carole and Stevie beside her. Suddenly Carole, who was closest to Lisa, gasped.

"Look!" The other four snapped their heads towards Carole and followed her gaze. When they saw what held Carole's gaze, they each gasped too. Lisa's fingers were twitching, each finger stretching tentatively upwards.

"Lisa!" Everyone exclaimed simultaneously. Alex flitted to Lisa's side immediately grasping her small hand and enveloping it in his own two hands.

"Lisa! Lisa? Lisa, can you hear me?" Alex asked quietly, hope filling his eyes. "Lisa? If you can hear me, squeeze my hand." Seconds passed and Alex's hope faded as the hand in his remained motionless. Then, when he was about to release her hand and continue pacing, he felt a tender, feeble squeeze on his hand rendering him speechless, unable to do anything but gasp.

When Lisa heard five simultaneous gasps; she realised, for the first time, that she was not alone. It stunned Lisa that there were five people there. At first she had expected four maybe five if there was anyone there. She thought that Stevie and Carole would be there along with her parents and maybe Melanie. However, all five of the voices seemed to belong to someone around her age. She wondered idly if Phil was there, but that would only make three, she had no idea who the other two might be. A week earlier, she might've thought that Alex would've been there too. That thought hurt so Lisa quickly tuned her mind to listen to what was happening in the real world. First she heard a female voice calling for the others in surprise. The voice seemed a year or two older than Lisa's and it seemed extremely familiar and Lisa soon deduced it to be Carole's. Then, she heard five voices of various pitches exclaiming her name and movement around her, as if people were standing up from chairs and heard someone's footsteps coming towards her and warm hands enveloping hers. She heard a voice speaking beside her, working hard to recognise both the voice and the words it was speaking. This was another familiar voice although the new voice was male. She knew immediately that it was not her father's voice, it was too young for that, but neither was it Phil's, though it was around the same age. She could feel that she knew the voice but the knowledge was eluding her so she focused on the words, hoping for further illumination of the identity of the boy at her bedside with her hand in his. "Lisa!" it called and Lisa again felt that she knew the voice but just couldn't put a name to it. "Lisa? Lisa, can you hear me?" the voice continued in a quiet tone. 'Who is this!' thought Lisa to herself. 'I know that voice yet I can't recall where I know it from…' Lisa listened intently once the voice started speaking again. "Lisa? If you can hear me, squeeze my hand." Lisa's mind went into overdrive as an epiphany suddenly appeared to her. 'It can't be!' Lisa thought to herself, pushing back against the sudden realisation that had hit her. 'Can it? I mean, he doesn't care anymore. . . right?' Lisa let the memories of Alex flood through her and compared his voice to the voice that had spoken a few seconds ago. It was an imperfect match, but Lisa had to admit that they were undoubtedly the same voice. The new voice was saturated with worry, concern and fright; hope mingling momentarily where the old voice had been happy and carefree. Lisa pondered over what could have brought about the change. An idea blossomed in her head and her mind regarded it as a hopeful fantasy her subconscious had dreamed up to make her feel better. 'But; what if…?' Lisa thought to herself. She let the fantasies fill her mind, imagining them to be true. What if the reason he was worried and frightened was for her. What if he was concerned for her wellbeing and was afraid and upset to see her hurt. What if… what if he still cared? Still pondering over that thought, she answered his plea and tenderly squeezed his hand with all the strength she had, which was feeble, all things considered, but sincerely hoping that he felt it.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

When Lisa squeezed Alex's hand, the whole room let out a breath they hadn't realised they were holding. Carole, Stevie and Phil sat back down on their seats breathing a sigh of relief. Alex buried his face wearily in Lisa's bed sheets and let the few small tears of relief run down his face.

"Thank God." He murmured into Lisa's pillow. Kristi remained standing and started backing towards the door slowly.

"I should probably go. . .I mean, now that I know that she's O.K. . ." Carole, Stevie and Phil called goodbyes over their shoulders, thanking her for her valuable information, though to someone who hadn't heard their conversation in the hall it would seem that the gratitude was directed towards the flowers Kristi had brought with her.

Fifteen minutes later, both girls and both boys were seated in the seats they had become accustomed to in the last few days when Lisa's eyelids fluttered slowly open. She blinked several times before the form of Alex standing over her came into focus. Their eyes locked and various emotions flooded through the pair of them; but before Lisa could begin identifying them, Stevie and Carole claimed Lisa's attention.

"Lisa!" they squealed, flinging themselves upon their friend, gleefully happy that she was finally awake. Phil, standing behind the two squealing girls noticed Alex stiffen when Lisa winced and let out a small moan of pain. As the two girls swiftly pulled back with apologies tumbling from their mouths, Phil smiled a small, knowing smile at the now unobstructed view of Alex and Lisa's still entwined hands. 'Maybe this will all end O.K. after all.' He thought to himself.

"Oh Lisa! Thank goodness you're O.K.!" Stevie cried, breathless with relief.

"We were so worried!" Carole added.

"How did I get here? The last thing I remember is…" Lisa trailed off glancing around in confusion.

"First of all," Stevie started, leaning forwards, "what happened?"

"You know," Carole prompted. "In the feed barn?" Lisa thought hard before formulating her answer.

"Well, I went to get Prancer's feed and when I got inside the barn, I left the bucket beside the feed bins to fill up after I got the hay." Here Lisa paused, looking thoughtful. "I remember climbing over the freshly stacked hay bales to get to the loose hay. I was really tired so I guess I fell asleep because the next thing I remember is opening my eyes and I was curled up on the floor in the middle of a circle of flaming hay and a barn slowly filling with smoke. I could barely breathe. I remember choking as the smoke got gradually thicker and one of the ceiling beams falling next to me and then I closed my eyes, wishing it would all go away but then it's a blur until today." Lisa concluded. They all sat there stunned. They had known the beam had fallen in causing the whole barn to catch fire and burn to a crisp, although, luckily after Lisa was brought to safety; but they had no idea that it had fallen so close to her! If it had been a couple of inches to the side it would have crushed her completely! And none knew that Lisa was in the middle of where the fire started except Alex, who had been tactful enough to try and save them the worry of knowing their friend had been right in the middle of the fire. Carole regained the use of speech quickest and started to talk first.

"It was Red's friend Jake," she started, looking slightly annoyed. "He didn't take the hay in before it rained the night before and it was a warm morning so the barn was warm and stuffy meaning…" Carole trailed off, noticing Lisa nodding her head slowly with an expression of comprehension dawning across her face.

"It caught fire… of course, now it makes sense. I was wondering how the fire started. But, what happened, how did I get out and in here?"

"Well," Stevie started, "Max raised the alarm and we all assembled in the yard in front of the feed barn and when none of us," Stevie gestured around the room at herself, Carole, Phil and Alex before continuing, "could see you, and nobody else had seen you either, we started to panic. Prancer was going mental in the field nearby but we all just assumed that she was scared of the flaming feed barn." Stevie glanced sideways at her brother before continuing. "It was Alex who figured it out. When the beam fell, he heard you scream when nobody else did and he realised that although there _was_ fear in Prancer's eyes, if she was afraid of the fire, she would stay as far away from the feed barn as she could. Yet she was galloping in circles and rearing and bucking in a frenzied state relatively close to the barn. He figured out that she wasn't scared for herself, but for your safety." Stevie fought back the grin that threatened to spread widely across her face as she continued. "Then he sprinted towards the barn, leaving most of us thinking he'd either turned mad or suicidal! That's when Carole and I figured out that you were inside the feed barn. Alex lifted you from that barn, Lisa, he's how you came to be here." Stevie concluded softly. Lisa's eyes widened. She was speechless as she turned to look at Alex for the first time voluntarily since the incident in the mall. She searched his eyes while trying to find her voice.

"You… saved my life?" She stammered. "But...why?" She looked away to hide her face from the four's searching gaze. "I mean… what about those things you said… you know… in the mall." Alex sighed and looked towards the others. Carole's gaze was sympathetic as she urged him to tell Lisa the truth; Stevie's meaningful glare bore into him until he turned his attention to Phil. Phil nodded before turning his attention to the two, seated girls.

"Come on guys, we'd better go and find a nurse or doctor and tell them Lisa's awake." The two girls exchanged a fleeting anxious but hopeful look before scrambling up and out of the room. Phil turned and winked at Alex before following suit.

As the door swung shut after Phil's winking face, Alex turned back to Lisa and placed his free hand over Lisa's small hand, still enveloped in his larger one. "Lisa, please believe me, the first time I saw you that day was when you were, you know, acting all cold." Lisa looked up at him, slightly embarrassed, with her eyes locked on his. Alex noticed a solitary tear roll slowly down her face so he proceeded to speak again, softly and intensely. "Lisa, I swear, whatever you think I said; those words never came out of my mouth. I would never say anything to hurt you like that." Neither Alex's nor Lisa's gaze wavered until Lisa's quavering voice broke the silence filled with remembered promises surrounding it.

"That's what I thought too… until that day in the mall."

"But-" Alex cut her off but he was almost immediately cut off by Lisa speaking again.

"I know… and I believe you; but who was it? I mean, unless my eyes were playing tricks on me it was you, unless I was hallucinating…"Lisa trailed off with a mock thoughtful expression on her face. Alex fought back the urge to laugh but couldn't hold back a small chuckle. Smiling at Lisa and with happiness flooding his systems at the sight of Lisa's long-absent smile, he started to talk again.

"There could be another explanation." Alex said jokingly before sobering up and continuing. "Kristi and Veronica were at the mall, they saw everything." Lisa looked expectantly at Alex, willing him to continue.

"Well?" She prompted. "What happened?"

"Well, for a start, mum and dad had Chad and Michael." He smiled weakly and a small giggle escaped Lisa's lips.

"What do you mean by that?" She giggled.

"Well, you know how people say that Michael looks just like me? Well, under Chad's manipulative influence; which I know the power of from personal experience; he donned stilts, make-up, my clothes and… voilá; instant 'Alex Lake' double!"

"But how could Kristi possibly know that?" She asked apprehensively. "I mean, I highly doubt that Michael would allow Chad to apply make up to his face in the middle of the mall where so many could see him!"

"Kristi said she saw that Michael's bag was stuffed with my clothes and stilts and make-up were falling out while they were spying on our little fight." Alex said with a grimace. Lisa too blushed at the mention of their fight that day.

"I'm really sorry for flying at you like that. I never would have acted like that if I knew it was a trick. I should never have lost my faith in you; I should have realised that it was Michael and not you." Lisa slowly raised her lowered eyes with a pleading expression on her face. "Can you ever forgive me?" Alex stared at her for what seemed to Lisa a horrifyingly long time and she had begun to lose hope when Alex leaned in and kissed her forehead and then moved to rest his forehead against hers.

"There's nothing to forgive." He whispered before he pulling back smiling. "I'm not even sure if my mum or dad would've noticed that it wasn't me!"

"I wonder how they're getting on in there?" Carole mused, glancing back at the door to Lisa's room, over which they stood as sentinels.

"Well, I hear no shouting so I take it that it's going well." Phil joked weakly.

"Only one way to find out!" Stevie announced before jumping up and marching over to the window, ignoring Carole and Phil's protests. She peeked through a gap in the curtains and saw Alex smiling and holding a giggling Lisa's hand. As she watched, Alex leaned in and softly kissed Lisa. Stevie smiled and turned back to Carole and Phil, who waited anxiously behind her for what she had seen.

"Oh, yeah!" She giggled, raising her eyebrows and nodding her head. "They're getting along _just fine_ in there!" She jerked her thumb over her shoulder and Carole and Phil scrambled to peek between the curtains.

"Awwwww!" Carole sighed, turning back to the others. "I guess everything is back to normal now."

"Not yet." Stevie said with a steely glint in her eye. "At least not until we all get Michael and Chad back of course!" Both Carole and Phil nodded in agreement. Glancing back at the door of Lisa's hospital room, Stevie had a feeling that Alex and Lisa would agree too.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18 

When Lisa left hospital three days later, on the following Thursday, to celebrate The Saddle Club along with Phil and Alex took a hack to the waterfall. It was a warm afternoon and they peeled off the jodhpurs they wore over their shorts before jumping into the water to cool down.

After half an hour of splashing and pulling each other under, they pulled their sopping wet selves out of the water and sat eating their lunch, wrapped in towels. "So," Phil started, glancing round at the others sitting on the rock, "only a few days left to go. You guys ready?"

"Of course!" Stevie exclaimed, punching the air. "We were born ready, right guys?"

"YES MA'AM!" The others yelled before collapsing in a heap clutching their stomachs, exploding with laughter.

"Ha, ha. Very funny. But seriously guys, we're gonna rock on Sunday!" Alex raised his bottle of water in mock solemnity and said in a deep, solemn voice,

"To The Saddle Club!"

"To The Saddle Club!" The others echoed, raising their bottles just like Alex had. Alex put his bottle to his lips before adding as an afterthought,

"And me of course!"

"Oh yes!" Stevie said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "All hail the mighty Alex Lake!" she said before kneeling at his feet.

"All hail Alex Lake!" the others echoed before mimicking her actions. Alex placed a hand over his heart and wiped away an imaginary tear. His lips twitched as he spoke.

"I'm touched guys!" he said, his voice thick with fake emotion. Then he adopted his deep voice again. "You may rise!" Lisa and Stevie jumped up quickly with impish looks on their faces and Carole and Phil raised their heads to watch them.

"And you may fall 'mighty Alex'!" They cried before lunging at him and shoving him backwards off the rock. Alex let out a cry of shock and tried to right himself. As he fell, he grabbed the closest thing to steady himself; which happened to be Lisa's wrist. Lisa shrieked as she tumbled off the rock along with Alex and into the icy water below. She bobbed to the surface, spouting water from her mouth. As Alex surfaced next to her, she splashed him, yelling, "You'll pay for that Alex Lake!" Back up on the rock Phil, Stevie and Carole roared with laughter before helping Lisa and Alex back out of the water.

"That reminds me," Stevie said when her laughter ceased enough to allow coherent speech, "what are we going to do about Michael and Chad?" They all sat in silent thought until Alex's eyes lit up.

"I know!" he exclaimed before they all leaned in to hear Alex's plan.

Later that evening, Lisa lay upside down on the armchair in the upstairs spare room of her house, thumbing through scores and lyrics for some of their songs when the doorbell rang. She heard her mum yelling for Melanie to get it and looked over at her wall calendar. The square for Sunday was circled in a thick red marker and 'Horse Wise Meet' was written across it in neat, black script. The days leading up to the meet were crossed out in large red crosses with the large red permanent pen hung on a string next to the calendar before Lisa went to sleep each night. 'Just two more days!' Lisa thought excitedly as she closed her eyes to imagine the meet and the dance afterwards.

"BOO!" Three voices yelled in her ear. Lisa screamed and jumped a foot into the air, the scores and lyrics tumbled in the air around her as she fell off the chair and landed with a muffled thump on her carpet. Carole and Stevie stood at the arms of the chair and Alex behind, erupting with laughter. Lisa crossed her arms and glared at them as they tried to regain control of their laughter. Alex stifled his laughter and extended an arm to help her from the floor but was unable to hide his grin, which spread from ear to ear. Carole and Stevie's face mirrored his as they too tried to stop giggling.

"Sorry Lisa!" Carole said with an apologetic smile. "You're just too easy!"

"We couldn't resist!" Stevie added grinning.

"Alright fine!" Lisa interjected, still slightly ruffled. "We have the sound check on Saturday and if we want tomorrow off to shop for outfits and practice for the events, we need to get practicing." Alex lifted his guitar case and began undoing the clasps.

"Come on guys; Lisa's right. We need to get practicing."

"You're just trying to get back in her good books." Stevie grumbled, hitting her brother with the pillow on Lisa's armchair. Alex retaliated by tossing one of Lisa's stuffed horses at Stevie who shrieked and crouched down to hide behind Lisa. Carole laughed at the twins' antics. "Come on guys, we really should be practicing." She said before turning to Lisa. "So, what first?"

"Bye guys! See you tomorrow!" Lisa called from the doorway of her house as Stevie, Alex and Carole were picked up by their parents two hours later. Lisa closed the door and trudged up the stairs, yawning as she went. She changed into her pyjamas and crossed to her wall calendar and crossed out that day. She climbed into bed and lay grinning when her mother came in to wish her goodnight.

"What are you smiling about?" Her mother asked as she kissed Lisa's forehead.

"Two more days!" Lisa squealed excitedly. Her mother smiled before leaving the room. Lisa rolled onto her side and smiled at a picture of the six of them at the last Pine Hollow dance before switching her lamp off and drifting off to sleep, still smiling.

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A/N: I could really use some help as to their revenge on Michael and Chad! Any ideas? Please R&R!


	19. Chapter 19

**I'M BACK! Sorry it took so long for me to update, my computer broke.**

**Have any of you seen 'The Lion King' musical? It was AMAZING! The atmosphere! The choreography and costumes! And the music! I absoutely adore Hans Zimmer's music and I was so glad that they kept it in from the film! The instrumental score is one of my favourite parts of any film! ;D**

**Anyone have any ideas for their revenge? I need your help?**

"How about this one?"

"Too frilly."

"This one?"

"Too long." Carole sighed as she placed what seemed like the one hundredth rejected dress back on the rail.

"Come on Stevie, there's got to be at least one dress you like in this whole mall!" Stevie simply shrugged and continued browsing through the rails of the fifth dress store the trio of girls had traipsed through whilst dress shopping.

"There's bound to be; I just haven't found it yet. Not everyone is as easily satisfied as you, Carole." Carole had found her dress in the very first shop they visited, a knee length dress of a deep, shimmering purple with sleeves which fell halfway down her upper arm. "And besides, Lisa hasn't found her dress either."

"What about this one, Stevie?" Lisa appeared behind them with a simple, sea green halter neck dress in hand. Stevie's eyes lit up at the sight of it.

"Perfect!" she squealed and took the dress from Lisa and sprinted towards the changing rooms. "Well, what do you think?" Stevie asked, emerging from the cubicle and twirling. The dress came to just below her knees and fitted her perfectly.

"You were right, Stevie. It's perfect!" Carole enthused; glad Stevie had found a dress which suited her so well. "Only you left, Lisa!"

Three quarters of an hour later, they were still hunting through the many rails of clothing, searching in vain for a dress for Lisa, much to Carole's displeasure.

"Come on Lisa, haven't you seen _anything_ you like yet?" she moaned. "You're worse than Stevie!" Lisa turned to her with an apologetic look on her face.

"Sorry, Carole; but every time I see something I like, they don't have it in my size! And all the smaller dresses are really childish!" she exclaimed, frowning at the dresses her hands quickly skimmed over. "Ugh! There's nothing in here, I'll never find a dress!" she threw her hands up in despair before a thoughtful look came across Stevie's face.

"Wait a minute! What about that new store, just opened beside the music store? Doesn't it do small sizes?" Lisa threw her arms around Stevie, an expression of glee written all over her face while Carole simply laughed.

"Stevie, you're an absolute genius! Not to mention a lifesaver!" Lisa said giddily, pulling away from the hug and bouncing on the balls of her feet with excitement. Carole, however, shook her head at Stevie.

"Why didn't you say so earlier, genius! It would've saved us a lot of useless searching!" Stevie simply shrugged

"I didn't feel the time was right to reveal my true genius." She proclaimed loftily. Carole just laughed and shoved her lightly.

"Come on, genius, let's go."

"Come on out, Lisa," Stevie called through the door.

"Yeah, we wanna see it on you!" Carole called in a similar manner.

"Fine!" Lisa called back before she opened the door and stepped out. Stevie and Carole stared. "Well?" she asked, feeling slightly self conscious due to their staring.

"Wow!" they answered in unison. The dress was strapless with an off the shoulder, slightly frilly trim and a shade of turquoise which brought out her blue eyes and made them sparkle. The dress itself was adorned with a few sequins, but enough to make the dress sparkle too and was worn with a thick, pink belt, above the waist. Carole recovered her speech first.

"That dress is perfect Lisa, it totally suits you!" Whilst all Stevie could do was nod in agreement. Lisa beamed and retreated back into the dressing room to change back into her normal clothes.

After she had paid for the dress and left the shop, the three sat on the benches beside the fountain to rest their feet before heading for Pine Hollow.

"You know, Lisa," Stevie started slyly, watching her friend from the corner of her eye. "You're probably gonna give my brother a heart attack on Sunday!"

"Oh, shut up Stevie!" she squealed, swatting at her friend. Stevie laughed and dodged Lisa's hands before continuing.

"Well, either that or he'll go insane with jealousy due to all of the guys present staring at you!" Lisa glared.

"One more word, Stephanie Lake, and I swear, I will dunk you into that fountain!" At the mention of her full name Stevie knew she meant it and decided to button her lip while Carole rocked with silent laughter.

"Well, well, well. Here come the three musketeers!" called Phil teasingly with a smile on his face. Stevie stuck her tongue out at him as she approached. Alex swivelled to face the approaching trio of girls, grinning.

"At last! What took you so long?" Stevie drew herself up as she came to a stop beside him and spoke in a serious tone.

"Shopping is a very time consuming and lengthy task, my dear brother."

"A task which is vital to our society." Lisa added, her eyes twinkling.

"What about you boys?" Carole asked, shaking with silent laughter. "What have you three been up to?"

"Tacking up." They said in unison.

"Alright then, we'll go tack up and then we can all start practicing!" And with that, Stevie marched off towards the stable block. Glancing at each other, the others shrugged and ran to catch up with her.

The six friends headed towards the tack room but Lisa stopped dead in the doorway, causing the others to walk into each other and all six of them toppled to the floor. Lisa sat up, rubbing her arm and looking confused.

"Where is Prancer's tack?" she asked, picking herself off the floor and walking towards the empty rail which read 'Prancer'. She turned to face the others. "It should be here." Alex stood up from the floor, looking slightly embarrassed while the others did too.

"Oh! I forgot. I tacked Prancer up for you when I was tacking up Comanche." Lisa smiled warmly at him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Awww!" Carole and Stevie sighed. Stevie turned to Phil and pointed a finger at his chest accusingly.

"What about you, mister? Can't you be a gentleman too?"

"I- um, well…"Phil stammered. Stevie grinned at him and laughed.

"Only kidding! You're off the hook," she called over her shoulder as she walked out of the tack room, arms draped with Belle's tack. She stopped and turned in the doorway. "For now…" she stated ominously before turning on her heel and leaving. Phil and the others stared after her.

"Is she joking or not?" Phil asked, slightly scared.

"So," Alex started, heading towards the girls' bags, "what did you ladies buy?" He leant down to pick up the bags in order to investigate their purchases when a plastic curry comb came flying through the air to hit him squarely on the back of the head. Alex straightened up immediately, clutching the back of his head. "Ouch!" he exclaimed before narrowing his eyes at his sister. "What was that for?"

"Well, you were going to ruin our lovely surprises for you boys," she answered with a shrug, not skipping a beat as she brushed the mud from Belle's coat.

"You didn't have to throw the brush at me!" Alex exclaimed indignantly as Lisa and Carole glanced at each other with amusement from their respective positions; Carole in Starlight's stable and Lisa on the floor with her back against Prancer's stable door.

"Oh, grow up, you big baby!" Stevie threw back at him as she finished tacking Belle and stepped out of the stable. "Everyone ready?" The others nodded in agreement and mounted their horses, turning them towards the arena for the final practice before the big day.

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Chapter 19


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey guys! It's finally the last chapter of this story! I've been working on it for about four or five years and it's finally finished! Okay, I'm done. On with the story!**

******Chapter 20**

The day of the meet finally dawned a clear and bright Sunday morning. Stevie woke up and lay for a while before remembering what day it was and springing up from her bed and frantically searching for her riding apparatus, strewn across her room. After throwing on her jodhpurs and shirt, carrying her dress bag, hat and tie in her arms, she sprinted down the stairs to the kitchen, where Lisa, Carole and Alex were sitting at the table. "Finally decided to join us, eh Stevie?" Alex called from his seat, chucking an orange at her head.

"Yeah, of course she had to be fashionably late." Lisa added, earning an orange projectile to land in her lap, which she instantly started peeling.

"Hey!" Stevie exclaimed, feigning anger. "You can't steal our oranges!"

Lisa shrugged. "I assumed you were giving it to me."

Stevie crossed her arms and mock glared. "Well, I wasn't and I don't give you permission to eat our oranges."

"Well I do." Alex chimed in, putting his arm around Lisa. "And you'd better hurry up or else we'll be late."

"Alright, alright." Stevie called over her shoulder exasperatedly, buttering her toast. She stuck it in her mouth and once again lifted her stuff, mumbling, "Let's go!" The others laughed and lifted their own stuff, heading for the door.

The stable block was in chaos as the four of them stepped inside: riders running around, searching for ties, blazers, hats, tack, grooming kits… The girls and Alex spotted Phil and Cam amongst the chaos and joined them, signing themselves in and grooming and tacking their horses. They each swung into the saddle, taking the time to check their girths and stirrups before heading for the practice arena. "Good Luck, guys!" Lisa called to the others as she nudged Prancer on and started her warm up.

"Well," Stevie sighed, relaxing into Phil's arm around her shoulders as the six left the, now empty, stable block. "That was a very productive day. And it's not even over! We still have the dance." Her eyes sparkled with anticipation. After a moment, she continued, "I had no idea you could Barrel Race, Cam."

Cam smiled. "You weren't so bad at the show jumping yourself, Stevie."

Stevie playfully punched his shoulder. "What do you mean 'not so bad'? For your information, I came first! And no surprise too. The Lake twins are the best jumpers at Pine Hollow." She added, high fiving Alex.

"Yeah, congrats on winning the Cross County jumping, Alex." Phil added. "And you Carole on the Dressage, not that there was ever any doubt you wouldn't win." Carole responded by sticking her tongue out at him.

"Well done in the horse whispering, Lisa." Carole commented, smiling at Lisa in slight awe. "You and Prancer have such a strong bond, the judges would've had to have been out of their minds to place you anywhere other than first." Lisa blushed slightly. At last they reached the house where the girls and boys parted ways to change for the dance.

The boys finished first, having less to change and stood about in the barn, chatting and eating some of the snack food, having worked up an appetite competing in various events that day. When the girls made their appearance, Alex was getting the boys some drinks whilst Cam and Phil discussed techniques. The girls approached and twirled, showing off their outfits and the boys managed to articulate compliments, eyes wide and blinking rapidly.

Carole had accessorised her purple dress with black heels and her black hair straightened and pulled back into a ponytail, tied with a purple ribbon and a few tendrils of hair framing her face. Stevie had on her feet a pair of green flats and a blue-green hair band in her hair to match her sea green dress. The two of them remained with their boyfriends, laughing and chatting, making the most of the time before they had to get on stage and sing.

Lisa made her way over to the food table, a pair of pink kitten heels on her feet and a deep pink carnation in her hair, complimenting the pink belt around her waist which accentuated the turquoise of the dress, in turn bringing out her eyes. Alex's back was turned as she approached and, tapping him on the shoulder, stepped back, nervously awaiting his reaction. Stevie had been half right in her assumption; Alex didn't have a heart attack but his eyes widened like saucers and he chocked on the biscuit he had been eating. When he finally managed to dislodge the food from his throat, he stared at Lisa.

"Well?" She asked expectantly, twirling for emphasis. "What do you think?"

Alex opened and closed his mouth multiple times before his brain remembered how to form words. "Y-you… you look…stunning!" Lisa giggled and the two turned to make their way towards the other four. Max appeared behind the six of them, informing them that almost everyone had arrived, prompting the girls and Alex to scramble for the stage area to prepare themselves.

Two hours later, the dance was still going. The girls and Alex had stopped performing, Max now played CD's, and the six were now dancing, talking and laughing; altogether having a good time. When the dance finally ended, Phil and Cam bade the others goodbye and went home and Carole and Lisa stayed over with Stevie.

The next morning, Chad and Michael were in the garden at the Lake's house, plotting new schemes against their equine loving siblings, when they heard the girls and Alex's chattering voices. They attempted to look nonchalant, failing miserably, but it was irrelevant as their siblings and their friends weren't paying attention to that. They had spent the previous night finalising their revenge plot against Chad and Michael and the time had come to put it into action. "Hey guys," Alex called out to them, "Do you wanna hear a joke?" They were slightly taken aback that this was addressed to them but thought nothing of it, shrugging in response to Alex's question. "Okay then, what do you call a boy wearing make up, stilts and stolen clothes?" Chad and Michael looked at each other, perplexed, before turning back to Alex with quizzical looks on their faces. "Don't know?" Their reply to this was to shake their heads and Alex then turned to the girls. "What about you?" They all shook their heads, suppressing giggles. "Michael Lake." Alex stated and the girls dissolved into giggles at the stunned, confused and slightly apprehensive looks on the other boys' faces.

"That's right guys," Stevie stepped forward, arms folded, speaking in an ominous tone of voice, "we know; and you're gonna pay!" Michael fearfully glanced up at Chad, who looked equally frightened as Alex and Stevie advanced on them, menacing looks on their faces, Lisa and Carole close behind. They took a few steps backwards and suddenly found themselves suspended in mid-air from their ankles as a result of stepping in their own rope trap. Alex stood to the side slightly, smirking as the girls continued to advance upon the two suspended boys. "Well girls," Stevie started with an evil smirk almost identical to that of her twin brother. "Time to get down to business." Lisa and Carole produced from behind their backs the make up bags they had used the night before.

Michael and Chad's eyes widened at the sight. "No! Please! Anything but that!" Chad screamed, writhing helplessly like a fish on a hook.

"But guys," Alex piped in faux innocently from the spot where he was regarding his brothers' torture at the hands of his twin sister, girlfriend and their best friend. "You didn't seem to have a problem with it a week ago." The boys grimaced, knowing they were doomed but that didn't stop them from trying their best to escape their fate, resulting in their make up being applied rather haphazardly across their face, somewhat resembling clown make up. Upon noticing the girls had finished, Alex approached, digital camera in hand. The boys' eyes once again widened and their faces became even more horror stricken. "I think our classmates at school will certainly be interested in this, don't you think, Stevie?"

Stevie grinned. "Certainly. But why limit it to that? Why not just post it on the internet?" Alex's own grin widened and Lisa and Carole smirked sinisterly. After documenting the proof of their triumph, they released the imprisoned boys, who landed on the ground in a tangle of limbs with a distinguishable thump, promptly disentangled themselves and ran screaming bloody murder for the bathroom. The remaining four erupted into laughter at the boys' expense. When they had regained enough control of themselves to stop the laughter, they high fived each other on a well executed plan and headed back towards the house, Carole and Stevie skipping ahead, Alex and lagging behind with Lisa, his arms around her shoulders. "That should certainly stop them from messing with us!" Stevie exclaimed triumphantly as they seated themselves at the table for breakfast.

Alex shook his head. "I don't think so." He replied. "I think we've just started a war."

Stevie shrugged. "So be it. If it's a war they want, it's a war they'll get. Now, where's the laptop? We've got pictures to post."

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**Well? How about a review as a parting gift? *hint hint* ;-P**

* * *

**Chapter 20**

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******Chapter 20**


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